Elise Stefanik Refuses to Admit She Supports Measures That Shut Down the Government

Congressional Candidate and political operative Elise Stefanik fired off her first policy press release yesterday, but now won’t stand by it. Stefanik has shamelessly stayed silent on how she would have voted on the Tea Party’s reckless government shutdown – a mission she helped engineer at the Republican National Committee – but Stefanik was quick to criticize her opponent.

“Elise Stefanik kicked off her campaign with an irresponsible message: do as I say, not as I do. Stefanik is staying silent on her policy position, but that hasn’t stopped her from lobbing bombs at her opponent for voting to keep the government open – without ideological strings attached,” said Marc Brumer of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “North Country voters want a leader who can stand by their convictions and they won’t be fooled by Elise Stefanik’s empty rhetoric or the political tactics she honed during her years working as a career political operative in Washington. If Elise Stefanik is serious about her candidacy, then she should come clean and admit that she would have voted for these reckless measures that shut down the government.”

On Tuesday, Stefanik issued a statement criticizing her opponent for not voting for four bills that shut down the government, even though she has repeatedly refused to say whether she would have voted for those same four bill herself if she was in Congress.

BACKGROUND

In First Policy Release, Stefanik Criticized Owens for Voting Against Four Republican-Backed Budget Bills. “Republican congressional candidate Elise Stefanik, in her first policy statement of the campaign, on Wednesday criticized U.S. Rep. Bill Owens, D-Plattsburgh, for voting against Republican-backed budget bills regarding the federal government shut down.” [Post Star, 10/2/13]

Post Star: But Stefanik “Repeatedly would not Say Whether She would have Voted for the Same Four Bills.” [Post Star, 10/2/13]

Washington Post: Boehner “Has at his Disposal the Political Tools to Reopen the Government at a Moment’s Notice” But he’s Refusing to Allow for a Bipartisan No-Strings Attached Vote That Would End the Shutdown. “House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) has at his disposal the political tools to reopen the government at a moment’s notice. But he would have to rely on an uneasy coalition of Democrats and a few moderate Republicans to pass a bill to fund federal agencies and national parks for the next six weeks. Such a move could provide a political escape hatch for Republicans who have been shouldering much of the public blame for the shutdown.” [Washington Post, 10/02/13]